Zhang Zuolin

Zhang Zuolin (19 March 1875-4 June 1928) was a Manchurian warlord who led Manchuria from 1916 to 1928, preceding his son Zhang Xueliang. He served as Japan's proxy in China for years, but his failure to fight the Kuomintang led to Japan's assassination of the warlord in 1928.

Biography
Zhang Zuolin was born on 19 March 1875 in Haicheng, Liaoning, China, and he had little money and a poor education. By 1896, he was a member of a bandit gang, and he had formed an army by his late twenties, having a Robin Hood-like reputation. In 1900, his gang joined the imperial army in the Boxer Rebellion, and Zuolin fought as a mercenary to protect merchants in peacetime and to fight against the Russian Empire during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905.

Rise and fall


In 1911, he prevented revolution in Manchuria at the time of the Xinhai Revolution, and Yuan Shikai gained Zhang's loyalty. However, Zhang refused to be transferred to Mongolia by Yuan, and he stayed in Manchuria, becoming its ruler. By 1920, he was supreme ruler of Manchuria, and he had amassed a wealth of over $2,600,000. His Fengtian Army was powerful, controlling the land north of the Great Wall and blocking off the Shanhaiguan Pass. Zhang decided to ally with Japan to prevent the Kwantung Army from taking over his lands, and he kept Manchuria safe while leading it to prosperity. In the 1920s, he made forays against rival warlords in northern China, but Wu Peifu's Zhilin Army dealt him an astounding defeat in 1922. In March 1926, Manchuria's economy collapsed, and Japan saw Zhang as a man who had outlived his usefulness. On 4 June 1928, the Japanese blew up his train, killing him; his son Zhang Xueliang would fight to avenge him.